Current lacrosse sticks have heads with one of two known conventional pockets attached thereto. The first type of pocket is a traditional pocket that typically consists of four or more adjustable leather thongs that extend between the lacrosse scoop and the base of the head. Soft fabric laces, i.e. nylon laces, extend between the sidewalls and are interwoven with the thongs to form the pocket for holding the ball in the head. The laces are typically held in place by sidewall strings attached to the opposing sidewalls or are strung directly through the sidewalls themselves. The stiffness of the leather thongs provides for precise ball control in high velocity throwing and shooting.
Disadvantages of known traditional pockets include the extensive maintenance required to maintain the pocket, the damage to the pocket when the leather thongs are exposed to moisture, and poor ball control while running. Repeated use of the pocket typically stretches the leather thongs, which can change the shape of the pocket and its performance. In this respect, the user is typically required to adjust the leather thongs in order to maintain the desired shape, location, and depth of the pocket and its associated performance.
Furthermore, the leather thongs can stretch and shrink unevenly when they dry after being exposed to moisture, such as when lacrosse games are held in the rain. The resulting uneven shrinkage requires further adjustment of the thongs to maintain proper pocket depth and shape.
The second type of conventional pocket is a mesh strung pocket. The mesh pockets are typically formed of a soft fabric material and are comprised of a single unit or structure that attaches to the lacrosse head. Current mesh pockets are typically configured such that they have ten holes across, sometimes referred to as ten hole mesh. Mesh pockets are looser than traditional pockets thereby providing greater ball control while running. Another benefit of this mesh pocket is that it does not require the extensive maintenance that traditional pockets require. Also, mesh pockets are relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
However, the looser netting and the smaller holes therein produce comparably poor throwing and shooting results. In particular, the flexible pocket does not have the required stiffness for providing accurate, high velocity throwing and shooting. In addition, the holes in current mesh pockets are sized such that no portion of the ball is cupped within any one of the holes formed therein. In this regard, the ball merely rests on a top surface of the mesh pocket. This results in less friction between the ball and the pocket thereby reducing ball control, as well as accuracy when the ball is being passed or shot.
Hard synthetic structures which are integrally formed with a head are also known. These structures act as pockets and are typically formed from a plastic material and from known injection molding processes. While these hard pockets are typically integrally formed with the lacrosse head, the lacrosse heads with their associated synthetic pockets are not usable in competitive lacrosse and are typically utilized by children or with non-lacrosse balls, such as plastic balls. This is because hard plastic molded pockets do not have sufficient flexibility and therefore cannot retain a ball in the pocket. These synthetic pockets, however, require almost no maintenance and are relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a lacrosse pocket that provides accurate, high velocity throwing and shooting, affords sufficient ball control while running, requires minimal maintenance, and is also inexpensive.